Having gone for that woodland management talk, we decided to go check out the woodland in question, Hardcastle Crags, at the weekend, which is a lovely, steeply sloped valley with an old mill in the bottom, and all the accoutrements and charm that that implies. The mill contains a cafe (a very National Trust cafe, perfectly pleasant, but seen one = seen them all) and a museum of sorts which we didn’t visit. They also have a bit stone outbuilding with composting toilets with the user interface upstairs and the processing department downstairs. I’d be interested in knowing more about how they make that work.
There’s a series of large man made ponds above the mill, diverted from the abundant water in the stream. So abundant last summer as to have taken out one of the foot bridges on its way down to flood Hebden, so part of the footpath was diverted and we did a slightly different route from the normal beginner level circular walk on the maps, but it was lovely and scenic.
The paths are very well maintained, having been presumably created by the monied classes in an earlier century (paved with stone, very posh) and looked after very well since then. A lovely place to visit, though you have to like walking up hills, since you’ll have to do it on your way out if at no other time.
On Sunday we managed to get something done, through a syrupy mire of slothfulness, and as pictured above, there is now paneling at the end of the kitchen and a new set of shelves. Every little bit of storage helps around there, especially as, having moved in, we should really now keep some clothes and other essentials there, rather than bring them with us when we come. Another set of shelves the other side of the stove will be forthcoming. And a hanging basket above. And anywhere else I can think of to put a horizontal surface.
One last bit of news, we called the local Cats Protection League and they got back to us… unless something goes wrong, our new cat arrives this evening. Watch this space for cute pictures.
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